Tennessee says court should reject death row inmate's plea

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Attorneys for the state of Tennessee say the courts should reject a plea by condemned inmate David Earl Miller to halt his execution.

Miller is scheduled to be executed Dec. 6. He has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Nashville arguing that electrocution is unconstitutional and lethal injection is even worse. Miller suggests in his suit that the firing squad would be a more humane method of execution than either of the methods currently practiced in Tennessee.

In a response filed Friday, attorneys for the state say Miller's claims have already been decided by the court. They say Miller's execution has been delayed twice to allow challenges to Tennessee's lethal injection methods.

The state has given Miller until Nov. 20 to choose between lethal injection and the electric chair.